Ofcom fines BT £17.5m for 999 call-handling failures

• Network disruption affected 14,000 emergency calls in June 2023 and lasted 10.5 hours

• Law requires networks to take appropriate steps to prepare for potential outages

• Ofcom finds that BT was not properly prepared to handle the incident

Ofcom has today fined BT £17.5 million for being ill-prepared to respond to a catastrophic failure of its emergency call-handling service last summer. 

BT connects 999 and 112 calls in the UK and provides relay services for deaf and speech-impaired people.

On Sunday 25 June 2023, BT experienced a network fault that affected its ability to connect calls to emergency services between 06:24 and 16:56. During the incident, nearly 14,000 call attempts – from 12,392 different callers – were unsuccessful.

BT notified Ofcom of this issue, as required by law, and on 28 June 2023 Ofcom opened an investigation to establish whether the company had failed to comply with its legal duties to take appropriate and proportionate measures to prepare for potential disruption to its network.

Ofcom found that BT did not have sufficient warning systems in place for when this kind of incident occurs. Nor did it have adequate procedures for promptly assessing the severity, impact and likely cause of any such incident or for identifying mitigating actions. It also found that BT’s disaster recovery platform had insufficient capacity and functionality to deal with a level of demand that might reasonably be expected.

The incident also caused disruption to text relay calls, which meant people with hearing and speech difficulties were unable to make any calls, including to friends, family, businesses and services. This left deaf and speech-impaired users at increased risk of harm.

BT is a large, well-resourced and experienced communications provider. Although there have been no confirmed reports by the emergency authorities of serious harm to members of the public as a result of the incident, the potential degree of harm was extremely significant. As a result of BT’s failures, Ofcom has decided to fine the company £17,500,000.

Says Suzanne Cater, Ofcom’s Director of Enforcement:

“Being able to contact the emergency services can mean the difference between life and death, so in the event of any disruption to their networks, providers must be ready to respond quickly and effectively.

” In this case, BT fell woefully short of its responsibilities and was ill-prepared to deal with such a large-scale outage, putting its customers at unacceptable risk.

“Today’s fine sends a broader warning to all firms – if you’re not properly prepared to deal with disruption to your networks, we’ll hold you to strict account on behalf of consumers.”